398 



THE POLAR WORLD. 



In the higher latitudes of the Antarctic zone the hunch-back and fin-back 

 whales abound ; but as the former is meagre and hardly worth the boiling, and 

 the latter, like the rorquals of the north, dives with such rapidity that he snaps 

 the harpoon-line or drags the boat along with him into the water, they are sel- 

 dom hunted. Hence they will most likely continue to prosper in their native 

 seas, unless the improved missiles recently introduced in the whale-fishery can 

 be made to conquer them. The hunch-back is distinguished by the great 

 length of his pectoral fins, which extend to full eighteen feet, while these organs 

 are comparatively small in the fin-back. A kind of broad-nosed whale likewise 

 makes its appearance in the Antarctic Seas, but it is not yet determined whether 

 all these fin-backed whales of the south are distinct species from those of the 

 Arctic waters. A circumstance which seems to speak for their identity is that 

 fin-backs are met with in the intervening temperate and tropical seas, so that 

 no Hmits appear to have been set to their excursions. 



The sperm whale, or cachalot, though partial to the equinoctial ocean, is also 

 found in the cold Antarctic waters. It was met with by Sir James Ross among 

 the icebergs in 63° 20' S. lat. ; and near Possession Island (71° 50' S. lat.), where 

 the hunch-backs were so abundant that thirty were counted at one time in va- 

 rious directions, and during the whole day wherever the eyes turned their blasts 

 were to be seen. A few sperm whales were also distinguished among them by 

 their peculiar manner of blowing or spouting. 



Among t'he dolphins of the Antarctic Ocean we find a species of grampus 

 no less formidable and voracious than that of the northern seas. On January 

 20, 1840, the American ship " Peacock," while cruising in the Antarctic waters, 

 witnessed a conflict between one of them and a whale. The sea was perfectly 

 smooth, so that the whole combat could be distinctly seen. At first the whale 

 was perceived at some distance from the ship lashing the water into foam, and 

 apparently making desperate efforts to shake off some invisible enemy. On 

 approaching, they found that an enormous grampus had seized it with its jaws. 

 The whale vainly turned and twisted itself in every direction, and its blood 

 tinged the water far around. The grampus had evidently the advantage, and 

 the other whales, of which there were many in sight, instead of assisting their 

 comrade, seemed only intent on their own safety. The grampus had a brown 

 back, a white abdomen, and a large fin on its back. The speed at which the 

 monstrous animals shot through the water prevented the Americans from wit- 

 nessing the issue of the fight. The classical dolphin of the ancients has been 

 seen near the Cape of Good Hope, and most likely wanders far to the south, as 

 he is proverbial for his arrow-like rapidity, and can easily traverse a couple of 

 hundred miles in a single day. In the Strait of Magellan and about Cape Horn 

 are frequently seen the Delphinus siiperciliosus, whose turned-up mouth-cor- 

 ners give his countenance a peculiarly benevolent and friendly expression, belied 

 by his ravenous propensities, and the Delphinus leucoramphus, who, like the 

 bjeluga of the north, has no dorsal fin, and by the liveliness of his movements 

 emulates the classical dolphin of the Mediterranean. 



The seal family plays a no less important part in the zoology of the Antarc- 

 tic Seas than in that of the northern waters. Here we find the monstrous sea- 



